The use of topical skin adhesives for medical closures continues to grow. Compared to conventional closure techniques such as sutures and staples, topical skin adhesives offer potential benefits to medical professionals. Exemplary benefits of using topical skin adhesives include a potential reduction in the time required to close an incision or laceration, and less skin trauma, which can result in an improved cosmetic outcome.
Current skin adhesive products are typically cyanoacrylate-based adhesives. Cyanoacrylate-based skin adhesive products generally consist of liquid monomers, do not contain solvent, and require no mixing prior to application. Cyanoacrylate monomers can polymerize in the presence of nucleophiles (e.g., hydroxide ions), and the polymerization is not inhibited by oxygen. The rate of polymerization can vary based on a number of factors including, for example, the moisture content of the environment, and the characteristics of the skin (e.g., nucleophile content of the skin). The polymerization rate can generally be accelerated by exposure of cyanoacrylate-based adhesives to additional nucleophiles such as amines. Although cyanoacrylate-based adhesives can provide materials with high tensile strength and high shear strength, the lack of elasticity and flexibility has practically limited the use of cyanoacrylate-based adhesives to incisions that are not under high tension. The use of cyanoacrylate-based adhesives in surgical procedures has also been limited by variable cure time and high cost.
There is a continuing need for new topical skin adhesives for medical closures.